Texans ages 25-34 who earn an associate degree are nearly twice as likely to earn at least $50,000 per year than those who don't earn a degree (24% vs. 13%). Those earning a bachelor's degree or higher are nearly four times as likely to reach this self-sustaining wage (49% vs. 13%). If every eighth grader in Harris County were to earn an associate…

According to a national poll of high school students that the Data Quality Campaign (DQC) and the Kentucky Student Voice Team developed in 2022, students are not getting the information they need. State, district, and local education leaders must take actions to help students, their communities, and schools by sharing information about context,…

The 2020 election brought about legislative change across the country. New and veteran policymakers need information about the schools in their state. What programs are the most cost effective and work best for students? How can states attract and retain great teachers? What information do parents need to ensure that their kids are on track to…

Despite the increasing awareness of basic needs insecurity and its adverse impacts on students' academic achievement and wellbeing, the racial and social inequities in these experiences remain a critical issue requiring scholarly attention. Using the #RealCollege Survey Dataset, this study investigates the prevalence of basic needs insecurity…

Regional comprehensive universities offer accessible and diverse undergraduate educational programs, while grappling with funding cuts and affordability. The study's first research question underscores the enduring importance of factors such as student characteristics, pre-college characteristics, and financial situations. The findings highlight…

Postsecondary education leaders are eager for reliable data to strategically plan for the next year through the next decade, and WICHE's projections of high school graduates are among the most relied upon sources. As WICHE has reported several times since the pandemic began, the disruption to student populations was illustrated with the shift of…

Postsecondary education is awash in data. Postsecondary institutions track data on students' demographics, academic performance, course-taking, and financial aid, and have put these data to use, applying data analytics and data science to issues in college completion. Meanwhile, an extensive amount of higher education data are being collected…

This study sought to better understand present-day relationships between institutional and programmatic characteristics and their impact on student outcomes at postsecondary career and technical schools. This is critical given: (a) the existence of a significant middle-skills gap impacting the U.S. economy; (b) a lack of research and guidance for…

Over the past two decades, education underwent a "big data" revolution as states began tracking individual student performance and interim assessments and educational software allowed for a greater granularity of data on students, teachers, and schools. Despite this plethora of new data, considerable gaps in data on early childhood…

Data is a critical part of policy conversations in every state. This briefing book is meant to bring the reader up to speed on 12 of the most pressing topics about the schools and postsecondary and workforce options in each state: (1) Student data helps improve student achievement; (2) Postsecondary data provides insights about students, schools,…

This paper reports on progress to date with a project underway in New Zealand involving the extraction of data from multiple government agencies that is then combined into one comprehensive longitudinal integrated dataset and made available to trial participants in a way never previously thought possible. The dataset includes school leaver…

R14CC and the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) are collaboratively implementing projects to address high leverage problems such as school systems' fiscal transparency, literacy strategic planning, and post-secondary planning for student success. This profile provides a summary of these selected projects and an overview of state education…

In Spring 2020, National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) convened a working group of authorizers and other stakeholders to learn more about the challenges they faced, given the data gaps caused by COVID-19, and to ask what guidance was needed for the sector to adapt to these unusual circumstances. Based on their feedback and…

Institution and system leaders play a critical role--perhaps the most critical--in promoting student success in higher education. At most institutions, change begins at the top, with the president and other senior leaders, as they set and implement the strategic direction for their institutions. In recent years, the role that data play in…

As the name indicates, the College Readiness Data Catalog Tool focuses on identifying data that can indicate a student's college readiness. While college readiness indicators may also signal career readiness, many states, districts, and other entities, including the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), do not systematically collect career readiness…